12 VOLT G4 light bulb problems

[Felicity]

At work I have 12 volt G4 bulbs in the lights. There are about 400 of these on the interior of the boat. I have to replace about 30 bulbs per week. About 60 per week goes out and if I bump them just right they will come back on. I have taken the lights apart they are clean, connections are good and tight. This boat is one year old. Anyone have these type of bulbs?? Anyone have these problems? The lights stay on 24/7 but it just seems excessive to me. Any ideas?

 

[Beckytek]

When they go out, replace them with Xenon lamps. They are supposed to have a 10,000 hour life span. Ron

 

[bigbill]

or try led's, it will reduce your heat, and they last a long time. i get my led's from superbrightleds.com.....just got three new ones in yesterday. i am replacing all 12 volt stuff with led's as needed

 

[GJH]

I have the same issue described with G4 halogens. It's not that they burn out, its that the connection gets wierd as described; if you jockey them a bit they will come on, sometimes, for awhile until they unbend or whatever. I think it is corrosion inside the fixtures, but have not cured the problem via sprays or reaming with pins or whatever. So, I too eagerly look forward to the OP's question. LEDs and Xenons would have the same problem, given they use the same pins.

 

[Andy B]

Im not sure why these fixtures do that either ,in my old boat I would pull the bulbs out and spread the pins a little and reinstall the bulb usually worked it musy have something to do with the execesive heat generated by these bulbs.

 

[z28jimi]

Im not sure why these fixtures do that either ,in my old boat I would pull the bulbs out and spread the pins a little and reinstall the bulb usually worked it musy have something to do with the execesive heat generated by these bulbs.

I think you hit on it. I believe the heat that they produce causes everything to stretch, which opens the slip-fit of the pins in the sockets ever so slightly, which allows a tiny bit of corrosion, which reduces the electrical connectivity just a bit, and over time, the connection is broken until you do some jiggling. The cooler burning LED's should not produce the same effect, the pin-socket joint should stay tight, and the problem shouldn't remain if you switch to the newer bulbs.